Lost: Season 5X
by foxter
Summary: An alternate timeline beginning after the season four finale in which the Oceanic Six never got off the island and Ben turning the wheel had multiple different effects ( not only the time travel) on everyone on the island!
1. After the Light Shone

_Michael had tried to freeze the C4 but it was already too late and the helicopter took off from the freighter and Sun desperately screamed for Jin who stood below waving his arms frantically and speaking Korean. Jack had to hold Sun back as Frank took off. Having bought his friends some tine , Michael made a last ditch attempt to run from the room. Suddenly a huge fireball erupted on the freighter as Sun cried out._

_Meanwhile at the Orchid station, Ben Linus Stood clutching to the sides of his parka, in front of a frozen wheel, he looked on at it with uncertainty in his eyes. _

_"I hope your happy now, Jacob" Ben sadly proclaimed as he began to push the wheel with all his strength and a white light flooded the room and the entire island, stretching all the way to the helicopter and the remains of the freighter!_

**Lost**

Jack's pupils blinked open and began to adjust to their surroundings, sweat trickled down his forehead and he gasped for air through a dry throat. He coughed and stammered to his feet wiping away blood from a fresh cut just above his left eye. Having readjusted to his surroundings on the Island he began to make his way through the thick vegetation surrounding the patch of bushes he had landed in.

The last thing he remembered was been on the helicopter after the freighter explosion and then a white light. He presumed they must have crashed back on the island but where was everyone else?

He spotted some familiar wreckage from the crash of flight 815 and among it was one of the original water bottles, Jack picked it up and began to drink from it, it cleared up his throat and he could focus once again. It was then he realized he must be deep in the forest and it would take him a while to get back to the beach camp. He could hear rustling in the trees behind him, someone was coming, somebody else from the helicopter perhaps. He turned around sharply as a hand emerged from the bushes followed by a familiar face.

"Claire?"


	2. Abrupt Landing

_The white light began to subside and Sawyer had to blink to readjust to the light, the first thing he noticed was that his head hurt, then he realized Juliet was no longer by his side, she had been there right next to him before he was blinded by the light and seconds later she had materialized further down the beach. _

_"Juliet" he called to her, when she saw how she had moved she was a startled as Sawyer._

_" But I was sat right next to you, I didn't feel anything I just moved" Juliet exclaimed, the two exchanged a worried look before Rose came running between them rushing about and calling Bernard's name. Similar scenes were playing out all over the beach, whatever the light was it had physically moved people. No more than a few feet but nevertheless it was quite a scary thought. Sawyer stood up abruptly ._

_"Hey everyone settle down" he shouted as silence began to fall " Look I don't have a clue what that light that moved us around was but we need to stay calm" the survivors on the beach began to gather round Sawyer as they had when Jack or Locke had given a speech. " Now" Sawyer said in a quieter voice " Is anyone missing?" _

_Everyone began to look around, checking for friends, loved ones and acquaintances, Bernard smiled as he made eye contact with Rose assured she was safe. It was Charlotte who spoke. _

_" Locke, the Bald One" she said her Ginger Hair Blowing in the Wind_

_" Locke wasn't on the beach to start with" confirmed Juliet, at which point the Zodiac Raft and it's occupants came ashore and joined the group, Charlotte Hugged Daniel, glad he was safe. _

_"I'm sorry Charlotte" Daniel whispered in her ear and before Charlotte could ask what for, there was the low buzz of a helicopter shortly followed by the helicopter turned on it's side flying low through the air above the survivors heads, narrowly missing them. One occupant fell from the aircraft before it crashed on a nearby cliffb_

_" Oh my god, it's the helicopter from the freighter" Juliet gasped_

_" Someone fell out over there" shouted Miles but Sawyer and Bernard had already run over towards the fallen passenger and the crowd was alerted as they got closer they exchanged a shocked and worried look as they saw that it was Sayid who lay face down and motionless in the sand. Juliet ran over and turned Sayid over, he didn't look badly hurt but he was unconscious. Sawyer looked up and saw the Helicopter had actually landed the right way up on the cliff. _

_"Blondie, Rose look After him" Sawyer commanded realizing someone had to take control " Red, Danny Boy and you in the green, head up to the helicopter, people might need help" Alistair, the man in the green shirt and a survivor of flight 815 was the first to get the top of the cliff and approach the helicopter, when he got there he discovered Kate and Hurley who had come out unharmed had managed to clamber out of the smoking craft and Kate was cradling a crying Aaron who had too come out unharmed remarkably. _

_" Is the Baby Alright" asked Charlotte _

_" Yeah, I think so" said Kate still shocked following the sudden events if the past few minutes " You have to help Sun and Lapidus" she continued, Alistair managed to yank open the door to the helicopter and free Sun who was unconscious. Frank murmured and groaned and began to come round, he touch his bruised and bleeding head and winced. _

_"How the hell did that happen?!" He exclaimed as he emerged from the helicopter._

"Claire?" Said a surprised Jack as she stood in front of him shaking and with cuts on the palms of her hands " Are you alright, what happened to you" he enquired as he put his arm around her and sat her down

" I fell over and cut myself running through the jungle" she explained "After the White light, my Dad and his cabin dissapered and I saw the helicopter flying about in the jungle before it crashed, I wanted to get back to the beach but I got lost"

" Hang on, I saw the white light too before I woke up here" Jack said, thinking it over " I must have been thrown out before the crash, Claire do you remember where the helicopter crashed" he asked and Claire pointed towards the beach " Right well I think you should come with me back to the beach so we can find our friends and see to those cuts"

" No, Jack I have to wait for my father" Claire insisted " He told me to stay near him, he warned me about this" then she stopped for a moment and took a deep breath

" When you saw your father in this cabin, is that why you left last night?" Jack asked

"I didn't expect you to believe me Jack" she said

" This Island seems to make you see things like that, it happened to me too Claire, but it's not real"

" It was Jack, he was my father I know it, I just wish I could have known him better before I came, he only visited me in Australia, once at least I know his name now"

" We can talk about this later Claire, we need to get back to true beach" Jack pleaded

" You go" said Claire solemnly " I need to stay" and bowed her head, Jack sighed and sat down in front of Claire desperately looking for some way to pursade her to come back with him, in the end he had to lie.

" Do you want to see Aaron, Claire?" Asked Jack " He's safe back at the beach with Sawyer and the others" he felt uneasy lying to Claire especially as he knew that Aaron was on the helicopter which had now crashed but he couldn't leave Claire out in the jungle alone in her current state of was a moment of silence until Claire nodded sadly. Jack reached out his hand to Claire. The pair began their walk through the Jungle back to the beach camp.

Neither of them said a word for a while until a unaware Jack got his foot caught in a wire. Before he had time to think, the wire activated one of Rouessea's traps that sent a tranquilizer dart into Jack's neck and he collapsed to the ground.

" JACK!" Screamed Claire as she shook him hoping he would wake up when a noise came from the bushes in front of them. " Hello, I need help" cried Claire hoping someone from the camp was coming but as the figure emerged and it's identity was revealed, Claire Screamed.

_After the blinding light began to fade away, the occupants of the helicopter began to realize that they were no longer above the freighter, they were now in the air above the jungle on the main island, they exchanged looks not quite believing what they were seeing._

_"Dude" was all Hurley could say, as Frank attempted to regain control of the aircraft , it plummeted towards the ground suddenly and a startled Jack fell backwards and was ejected hitting his head on the ground, knocked out_

_" Jack, No" shouted Kate but they were all ready moving towards the beach " We have to get Jack" she screamed at Frank while holding Aaron as tight as she could_

_" If we turn round we would probably crash" Frank shouted_

_" Lapidus, can we make a safe landing" Sayid Asked, before he received a response the plane tilted and the occupants were thrown about, screaming as it flew over the beach, Lapidus lost control, Sayid tried to jump from the plane but as he did it regained height causing him to plummet from a steep drop onto the beach. The plane finally landed on the cliff. Kate's neck hurt but her primary concern was Aaron._

_" Kate are you alright" asked Hurley as he emerged from the helicopter_

_" Yeah, I think Aaron's OK as well" she said relieved and gave the crying baby to Hurley as she climbed out. She looked back into the helicopter and gasped " Sun" she said_

" How the hell could the helicopter just appear on the island" Frank pondered

" After that white light went away, we'd moved about on the beach as well" explained Alistair, Daniel meanwhile was preoccupied with his journal, as they made their way back to the beach, Charlotte was helping Kate and Aaron and Alistair was carrying Sun in his arms.

" Jack" Kate said suddenly as if remembering he had fallen from the plane " We have to find him, he could be badly hurt" she continued as they made their way down the beach towards Sawyer's group, who were pleased to see that they were safe. Alistair laid Sun's Body on the beach as Juliet and many others ran over, concerned about her well being. Kate walked on towards Sawyer.

" The freighter exploded with Michael, Desmond and Jin still on board" Kate began to explain " Then there was a white light and the Helicopter ended up in the middle of the jungle and Jack fell out when we hit some turbulence, then we crashed on the beach"

" Well then we should send a search party out for the doc" Sawyer said "But we need to look after Sayid and Sun, she is pregnant after all" he reminded her

"We should send some people out to the freighter to look for survivors" Juliet Suggested

" It didn't look good" said Kate Sadly as she held Aaron who had started to cry again

When Jack woke up, he was alone, his first thought was that someone had attacked them and taken Claire and became frantic before realizing he had fallen victim to one of Rousseau's traps, maybe Claire had gone to look for help.

" Claire,Claire" he cried out into the jungle but he heard no reply, strangely enough he could now remember his experience in the helicopter, suddenly appearing in the jungle before he fell. " I need to find Kate and the others' he said, thinking out loud. He wasn't quite sure how long he and Claire had been walking, fifteen minutes maybe, although his memories were flooding back everything since the explosion was still a bit hazy, probably a side effect of the dart that hit him, he concluded.

Soon he came across a familiar clearing in the bushes and felt a wave of relief as he approached the beach and began to sprint through the jungle until his feet landed on sift sand and the ocean view he had become acquainted with in the past few months was in front of him. He saw Daniel and Charlotte talking, Miles and Alistair lifting a unconscious Sun towards the medical supplies, Sawyer and Juliet stood above Sayid, whose body lay rested against a log and then he saw Kate.

He looked into her eyes as she saw him back and he forgot the chaos of the day, forgot his injured friends, forgot the strange noise he could hear that everyone else was reacting too and just for a moment, none of it mattered because she was safe. And then his vision was blocked as everything was once again immersed in a bright light.


	3. Drifting Through Time

The white light had blinded Jack's vision for the second time. Now as it faded away, he had not physically moved but he immediately sensed something was missing. It suddenly hit him like a wave in a riptide, the beach camp had vanished, all the people remained but the camp was gone. A mad rush began, people scared and astonished, Sawyer and Miles were trying to keep things calm as everyone rushed around. Kate ran towards Jack with open arms even through the madness, glad that he was OK.

" Aaron, Hurley, Sun, Sayid" Jack said, needing to know how his friends were before he even confronted the white light, Kate nodded.

" Aaron seems OK, Hurley's just in shock, Sun and Sayid are unconscious" she explained, Jack ended their embrace and headed off towards where Sun was laid on the beach and began giving her a proper medical check. She began to give signs of stirring and muttered Jin's name at which point, he looked down at the ground sadly.

Suddenly Sawyer and Juliet approached him hoping he may be able to calm the camp following the latest white light, they were been failed tailed by Daniel Faraday. " What do ya think Doc" asked Sawyer " White light shines from the sky and there camp is suddenly gone" Jack shrugged as bemused as everyone else and realized a group was beginning to crowd around where he was sat, hoping their sort-of leader would know what to do next. He looked at the faces, Sawyer, Juliet, Kate, Hurley, Charlotte, Daniel and Miles.

" Your camp hasn't vanished" said Daniel to the shock of most people who were expecting Jack to instruct them " Now I need someone to take me to something manmade" he continued as he got strange looks from all around him

" There's the Swan Hatch in the jungle" suggested Juliet. " No, Desmond and Locke blew it up" protested Kate

" It Doesn't matter" said Daniel " I need someone to take me there a small group maybe"

" Hang On" said Sawyer, putting a hand on Daniel's Shoulder to stop him walking off, before Jack finished his sentence for him " What do you mean the camp isn't gone" Jack said urgently. " Are you blind as well as crazy Danny Boy" said Sawyer Gruffly

" It's not gone, It hasn't been built yet" Daniel said before heading away in the direction of the Jungle followed by Charlotte

" I'm gonna stay here and look after Sun and Said" said Jack, attempting to take control of the situation " Kate you can help me, Sawyer, Juliet and Miles follow them two and try to find out what he knows" Jack said acknowledging that Faraday was hiding something

" Guess since our freighter blew up, I'm just as stranded as you" Miles pointed out as he walked off with Sawyer and Juliet to catch up to Daniel and Charlotte. Suddenly another thought struck Kate " The smoke from the freighter has gone" she said in shock

•

John Locke was the leader of the others, the entire camp and Richard Alpert were waiting for his instruction, the group that had attacked them and taken Claire and later Jack, Sawyer and Kate before they had forced them to flee and abandon the barracks and he was now their leader. They looked up to him. Then there had been the first flash of white light and he had appeared lying under a tree a few feet away from where they were stood but the others were gone. He called for them and looked around but nothing worked. There was a second flash of light and this time he stayed where he was but there was still no others. Then there was a loud noise that shook his eardrums and made him sharply pivot to face the direction in which the gunshot had come from. The nozzle of a gun appeared in a nearby bush, as Locke cautiously approached it a trigger was revealed with a finger pressed firmly on it, ready to shoot.

" Don't Shoot" cried out Locke and the man realizing he had been seen, burst through the bush- it was Ethan. Locke's eyes widened and he stumbled back as he saw the man that Charlie had shot months earlier "Ethan" Locke said with a sudden surprise

" Who are you and how do you know my name" shouted Ethan as he slammed the gun into Locke's chest causing him to fall back and hit the ground " Look I know this is hard to believe but Ben Linus appointed me leader of the others" Locke insisted, Ethan scoffed as if Locke's story was completely unbelievable

" I don't know who you are and how you received intelligence on us but your coming with me" said Ethan secretly reviling in Locke's fear, he pointed the gun towards Locke and squeezed the trigger, Locke suddenly dodged as Ethan fired and evaded the bullet. Ethan was fast and pounced on Locke, punching him square in the jaw and kicking him in the stomach. Locke fell back, weak and defeated as Ethan's gun slammed down into his face. Then there was only blackness.

•

" Hey, Stop" insisted Sawyer as Daniel's group patrolled through the jungle approaching the Hatch, everyone stopped and turned to face him, Daniel's face showed his irritation at the hold up " What the hell is going on Danny Boy, I want to know" said Sawyer, getting closer to Daniel and making Eye Contact as he spoke

" The Quantum Physics and Scientific Equations Involved make it far too complex for-" Faraday was cut off mid sentence by a punch from Sawyer, Charlotte gasped in shock and ran over to Daniel. " Well Try" said Sawyer

" These flashes of white light have been triggered by whatever Ben Linus did at the Orchid Station, one of the effects of this is that the island has become dislodged in time" Daniel said in the simplest way he could

" So... The Island is traveling in time" queried Miles

" It's more likely that we are" Daniel Concluded

" But if we're traveling in time whenever this white light happens, why didn't we the first time" Sawyer asked

" We probably did but only a day or so into the future, so we didn't notice anything different, the camp was still their because we'd already started time travelling leaving it abandoned, even the smoke from the freighter was still their, dying out" Daniel explained, bit the deep thought was soon interrupted.

" We're Here" said Juliet and she looked down at where the hatch been, With the help of Sawyer she began to scrape away at the mud and vegetation to reveal the intact entrance to the hatch before it was discovered by Locke and Boone. Sawyer and Juliet jumped back in shock " How is _that_ possible?" Asked Juliet

•

Sun opened her eyes and for a moment she was swept up in all the island drama around her, people rushing about and shouting at each other. Then she remembered Jin had been left on a exploding freighter and she had missed a chance of getting away from the damn rock that had become like a prison. Tears began to form as she contemplated living on the island without her husband. Jack approached her, smiling, hiding his guilt.

" How are you feeling Sun" asked Jack " You took quite a bump to the head", Sun gave him a poisonous look before saying " My husband is gone, Jack and I'm stuck on a island without him, but other than that I couldn't be better" Jack pondered how unusual it was to here Sarcasm from Sun. The Korean Women then stood up and began to walk away from him.

" Sun where are you going, I should treat that head injury" Jack protested

"It's a bruise Jack, I'm going to my garden" said a Defiant Sun

•

Locke tried to clear his vision but everything remained blurred, sweat trickled down his forehead and he pushed himself into an upright position. He immediately discovered he was tied to a radiator in one of the houses in the barracks, he could hear two men arguing in a nearby room but struggled to make out their conversation " - Wandering in the Jungle - Ben- Hydra - Still out cold- Be Careful"

He recognized one of the voices as Ethan but the other was new, he still didn't understand how Ethan could be here, footsteps were getting closer, coming down the hallway, opening the door, but when the door opened it wasn't Ethan stood there but another man he stood in the doorway for a moment and looked at Locke. " Hello, my name is Goodwin, I'd like to you your name and how you came to be on this Island" said Goodwin, Locke knew the name was familiar from somewhere

"My name is John Locke" Locke said and then after a long pause " What is the date, Goodwin?"

" March 12, 2004, Why?" Pressed Goodwin but before Locke could answer he was once again pounded by a bright white light.

•

" I don't understand" said Juliet, struggling to get her words out " The Hatch... It's not possible" Sawyer nodded in agreement as Charlotte shifted closer to Daniel, not moving her eyes of him, wondering exactly what else he knew. Then the ear piercing sound returned and the world around them got brighter... And Brighter!

" Son of a-" started Sawyer before the light cut him off from everyone else and then they reappeared " Bitch"

•

_Jin waved his arms in the air as the helicopter took off from the freighter desperately calling for them to wait in Korean. Desmond looked around Jin and four others were running about on the deck having heard him shouting about a bomb. Michael suddenly appeared behind him, running forward, seeing Jin left behind. _

_" We have to get away Bruva" shouted Desmond, but Jin was just screaming at Sun, Michael ran forward and pulled Jin down to the ground, they tumbled away just as a large explosion went off behind them, shaking the __entire freighter. Behind them the debris was crumbling into the sea. Desmond came running out, Bloodied but alive. " Hurry up" screamed Michael as he got to his feet offering Jin a hand to pull him up, the floor began to crack underneath them, Michael tried to communicate to Jin to follow him but Jin had already worked out the only escape route. Jin raced to the edge to the freighter and looked up at the helicopter whirring in the air, the Island and then he jumped. Michael seconds behind him reached the edge as a pole came crashing down and took a huge chunk out of the side of the freighter. He toppled over the edge, followed seconds later by Desmond and as they hit the water, the remainder of the freighter broke apart behind them. Michael fell, Jin fell, Desmond fell. There was a blinding flash of white and Jin hit the water_

_Michael suddenly burst out from underwater, coughing and spluttering, the current swinging him about as it took him away from the freighter at a fast pace, his left eye felt sore and swollen and he had a large gash on his forehead, he breathed heavily taking in the fresh air and realized that he was alone, no Jin or Desmond. " JIN, JIN, DESMOND" Michael called out desperately as he continued to drift far away from the freighter and back towards the Island. Then he glimpsed Jin,floating not far ahead from him unconscious in the water and began to swim over to him, moving his arms faster and faster as he approached the Korean Man who's head kept bobbing just above the surface of the water. As he approached Jin, he reached out and pulled him up as he did so, Jin coughed violently and slipped backwards but Michael managed to keep him above the water as they continued to float._

_" Seems familiar eh, Jin, you and me, explosion at sea, floating along, stranded" Michael said, even though Jin was still out of it and wouldn't understand his English anyway, it felt comforting to Michael to be able to speak out loud. It suddenly hit him that since the explosion, when they all jumped off he hadn't seen Desmond. Michael looked around but there was nobody else in the water but him and Jin, he even tried calling out for him a few more times but Desmond was nowhere to be seen. _


	4. No Smoke without Fire

" Bitch" said Sawyer, screwing up his eyes as he tried to comprehend the fact he had finished his sentence in another time. The Hatch had gone again but instead of the crater it left there was just nothing but jungle. Sawyer, Juliet, Charlotte, Daniel and Miles stood around a small hole in the ground and whatever time they were in it must predate the Hatch thought Sawyer.

" I have no clue what that was but we need to get back to the beach" said Juliet

" We don't know what time where in how do we know if the beach is even safe" quipped Miles but Juliet seemed ready to take her chances " But it's where the rest of the group is" she instructed " Safety In Numbers." The five of them slowly turned around, bemused by what they had just seen and turned back towards the beach. Meanwhile as everybody else had their back turned, Daniel stopped and slipped off his backpack as quietly as possible, leaving it by a tree before catching up with Charlotte.

"So this time travel light it's happening to everyone on the island right?" Asked Charlotte

" Not necessarily, it's likely it's just a certain group of people, mainly the survivors of the plane crash but some of us from the freighter as well" Daniel began to explain " I don't know what it is that we have in common that separates us from everyone else but some unknown definitions are causing us to be affected by this"

" Hang On a minute, Faraday" interrupted Sawyer " If we keep flashing through time for long enough, could we get to a point where our past selves are on the island?" Daniel nodded but looked wary " So we could go back and warn them, we could stop the freighter exploding, stop Claire vanishing or Shannon been shot or whatever.

"No" replied Daniel bluntly, earning him stares from the rest or the group " It doesn't work like that whatever happened, happened and if you don't remember meeting yourself in the past then it didn't happen" before Sawyer could reply, Daniel told the group that he had left his backpack and ran back to get it, looking back to check if he was alone, he carefully approached the tree where his bag was and sat by the site of the Swan Hatch waiting for another time flash.

•

Sun sat in her garden, trying her best to be busy with the plants and fruit to take her mind of her husband's untimely death but it wasn't working, she heard footsteps behind her and shivered, reminded of the attack on her not so long ago, she had forgiven Charlie after his noble death trying to save the rest of the camp, but as she thought about it more and more she knew that it was Ben Linus who was responsible for Jin's death and if he was still on this Island somewhere, she would be sure to destroy him for that.

"Sun" said Kate softly as Sun turned and darted a sharp look at the woman who had promise to collect Jin before he had been left in the explosion " I'm so sorry... I" Sun waited a moment, thinking deeply before her next words. " It's not your fault, Kate, I know you were just trying to save as many people as possible" Sun paused as a brief sense of relief washed over Kate and she put her hand on Sun's shoulder to comfort her " The man responsible for my husband's death is also responsible for the time light" continued Sun and they both knew who she was referring to- Benjamin Linus.

•

Michael and Jin continued to float in the water, heading back towards the shore of the island, every so often Michael would check on Jin or call out for Desmond but there was not much other activity. Jin began to stir. " Sun" he called out

" Jin" Michael said elated that he had woken up " It's Micheal , the freighter it blew up man, we're heading back to the island" Jin rubbed his sore eyes as he took in Micheal's words, not fully understanding but grasping the mist important parts of the sentence.

" Where is she" Jin replied, worried about his pregnant wife

" I Don't know Jin, hopefully they made it back to shore in the helicopter"

•

It was twilight on the beach as Sawyer, Juliet, Miles and Charlotte stepped out of the bushes, they headed over to where Kate was helping Jack tend to Sayid's head wound that he had sustained in his fall from the helicopter. Fortunately, he was now awake and apart from the gash on his head seemed to be fine.

" What's happening" Jack asked the group " What is this light thing and what is Faraday suggesting that we're traveling in time or something"

" That's right" said Juliet " Apparently it's something to do with what Ben did down at the orchid, I'm not sure what exactly the purpose of the station is but I know that there is some big frozen wheel down there or something"

" Faraday said it's dislodged us in time and then we found the Hatch before it was destroyed" Sawyer Continued

"Don't you think he's been a while getting that backpack of his" Queried Miles

"Never mind that" Said Sayid who so far had listened to the conversation trying to establish exactly what was happening " If Faraday says this light is time travel, that means we could be in any time at the moment and we don't know when"

"Sounds Ridiculous to me" said Kate firmly

"That's what I thought Freckles" Sawyer agreed " Until we saw the Hatch reappear and then disappear all together like it didn't even exist yet" Kate, Jack and Sayid looked on in disbelief but knew that what they were saying must be true, they had seen the camp vanish with their own the conversation had continued more had come over to the group to listen, wanting to know what was going on. Meanwhile down the other end of the beach Alistair, the man in the green top who Sawyer had sent to the helicopter earlier was trying to help Bernard out in making a campfire but it wasn't going very well. Rose was worrying about food.

" What's the point" their conversation was intercepted by Neil Frougut, a pessimistic and selfish survivor " You're making a fire but we don't even have food or clean water and we could just move again at any time" Neil said, he had a point but he had a bad way of making one

" Well at least we're doing something to try and help" snapped Alistair " What do you suggest Frogut"

"It's Neil" Suddenly Hurley stepped in to stop the pair " Hey Calm Down, Dude" he said to Frogut trying to calm the situation, he was hoping the fire would get going or they would get back to the present

"No I won't calm down" sniped Frogut loudly, attracting the attention of the whole camp " Cause I'm Hungry and I'm Tired and I don't know where the hell- sorry when the hell we are and Bernie the Dentist can't even make a fire"

" Hey Ease Up Frogut" said Sawyer " You Don't have to take it out on everyone else"

" It's Neil you inbred" snapped the irritated man and Sawyer growled in response as Juliet held him back. Jack knew it was time to step up, ever since Live Together, Did Alone back in the first week on the island he knew the group looked to him to calm the situation.

"Look I know this is strange" he said "I can't even get my head round it myself but we were close to rescue 12 hours ago and now we're fighting and confused and we've broken apart from each other. But we need to stick together and fix this, cos that's the only way we can get off this island" He finished, the eyes of the entire camp on him, taking in his words and agreeing with him.

"Did Nobody here what I just said" Said Neil after a moment's silence, most of the camp stared at him with sharp piercing eyes "This is hopeless, we can't even make fire" Sawyer opened his mouth to make a witty response when out of nowhere a sharp arrow with a red-hot flaming tip catapulted out of the air and in seconds before anyone had time to register it pierced straight into Frogut's chest. None of the survivors thought of the irony as their expressions of annoyance with Frogut turned to sheer horror. Frogut screamed in pain and collapsed into the sand, Juliet and Jack rushed to help him as the rest of the survivors looked up to see around ten to fifteen more fire arrows raining down on the beach. As they landed in the sand they lit up the beach and the surrounding trees but still the attackers could not be spotted. Jack and Juliet finished putting the fire out, a flaming arrow landed in the sand right next to them as Juliet was checking for a pulse, a bright orange light illuminated their faces.

"RUN" Shouted Sawyer at the top of his voice, the survivors began to so, fleeing to either side of the beach, some into the jungle and some taking cover under whatever they could find. " MEET AT THE CREEK" Shouted Sawyer again, attempting to set up a meeting point. It seemed wherever the group ran they were pursued by the flaming arrows. Something else fell on the ground near Mikes, he looked over to inspect it but he was grabbed by a running Sayid who screamed at him to look out and as they tumbled to the ground there was a large explosion. Kate, Hurley and Charlotte were thrown to the ground as they ran past the explosion. Debris flew and plummeted onto Sayid and Miles, but Sayid was fast to act and grabbed Miles up. As another hail of arrows surrounded them, Sayid ran forward and jumped into the sea, water splashing as he hit the surface. Kate looked on and decided to follow him. Two Survivors a man and a woman were talking frantically when they were both struck down by the arrows pinning them down. Jack ran back to try to help them, seeing this Juliet tried to go back too but Sawyer grabbed her arm too.

" There's nothing we can do, I'm sorry Juliet, we have to go or we die too" he insisted and they abruptly fled from their tree cover in the direction of the jungle. A barking Vincent surveyed the chaos and hurried after them into the jungle, while Alistair and Hurley followed Kate and Sayid into the water, deducing it provided safety against the fire. Other Survivors began to mimic this, Charlotte however ran for the jungle, not wanting to leave Daniel. Miles stood up and watched as a Blonde Girl was struck by an arrow while trying to flee to the water, looking on in horror, he jumped under a rock in the hope it would shield him. The Attackers seemed to have widened up and after a brief pause another wave of fiery arrows hailed onto the shoreline, multiple arrows struck the seawater, some landed tip upwards and the water was lit up, the rest of the arrows were a danger to the Survivors as they could hit them before they plunged into the water and fizzled out. Sayid took a deep breath and dived under the water, he opened his eyes and saw many flames dying and going out in the water before him. Kate desperately looked around on the beach and saw Jack, trying to help the lost,confused and injured she tried crying his name but it was no use. She swam closer to the shore and saw Sun, running about aimlessly, she called her name and beckoned to her. Sun ran through the storm of arrows and managed to make it into the water, she swam towards Kate and they dived down together. Under the water an active flame plunged meet centimeters from Sayid, he felt a flash of burning heat on his face as he floated towards it but luckily a split second before he entered its path, it went out. Frank Lapidus cowered behind the Zodiac.

Jack staged on at the anarchy on the beach, burning bodies and flying debris strewn across the beach, people trying to swim to shore among the fire. A final wave of arrows flew down and the remaining survivors were either struck down or escaped into the distance. He was dashing hopelessly trying to help the wounded but it was no use, Neil Frogut lay on the ground, his body shaking, bleeding out but alive. Jack approached him but was stopped in his tracks when a flaming arrow struck the body in his lower abdomen and then another ripped straight into his throat before Neil Frogut ceased movement. Three survivors were fast approaching Jack as Hurley and Alistair made it to shore. But just as they thought safety was on the horizon three explosives scattered in the area they were congregating.

"GET BACK" screamed Jack but he was too late as there was an almighty explosion and the three who had come to meet him were blown to smithereens and Miles who had crawled out from behind his rock was blown back. Hurley and Alistair retreated to the water in shock. Kate burst out from underwater and gasped in shock, Sun was swimming next to her. She grimaced as her lungs filled with sea water in the midst of the chaos. Coughing and spluttering she made her way with Sun to the shore drifting along and clambering on to the sand, while the Korean woman was stronger and got the her feet, Kate crawled along the beach until the water could no longer reach her ankles. The Attack was over

•

Charlotte ran through the bushes faster than she had ever run in her life desperate to get away from the bloodshed on the beach and find Daniel. As she ran through the sharp overgrown vegetation, sharp plants scratched against her wrists, creating fresh cuts as she winced at the sharp pain, a little blood was drawn. The headache she had been unable to get rid of all day began piercing to the forefront of her mind again, pain surging through her head as she held her palms to it and not looking where she was going tripped and landed flat on the ground below, letting out a quiet whimper. It was then she sensed someone near her, footsteps and breath and then a soft hand reached out to hold her's and before she knew it Daniel Faraday had pulled her up, brushed the hair out of her face delicately and checked she was OK.

"I got lost looking for my backpack" he explained " I was on my way back and I saw flames on the beach and people running and dying and I could hear the screams and I was just so worried about you" he said letting his caring side show as the pair held each other. Two other survivors emerged from the group and recognized them as Daniel and Charlotte pulled apart.

"It was just horrible, fire and explosives were flying at us" Charlotte told Daniel "Sawyer said meet at the creek" she said and signalling at the nearby creek, the four set off on the trek. But as Daniel walked, his head down to the ground,deep in thought, he glimpsed a tripwire on the trail, then he saw two pairs of feet and before he could speak the men had tripped the wire and were killed instantly in the explosion. Charlotte Screamed and Daniel pulled her back, realizing it must have been a trap set by their captors as two men and a woman emerged from hiding brandishing guns and grabbed the pair.

•

Sawyer hadn't let go of Juliet's hand since they had fled the beach but now they were panting for breath and their legs felt like they were about to give in so they stopped at s clearing in the bushes and snapped apart, gasping. Juliet removed a bottle of water from her bag and drank half of it in one gulp but as she placed it down on the ground a figure appeared in the bushes behind her and grabbed her by the neck. Another man restrained Sawyer.

" Tell me why you've come back or I'll slit her neck" threatened Juliet's captor

"You wouldn't believe me if I tried" spat Sawyer

"Wrong Answer" snapped the man but before he could hurt Juliet he stopped still as an expression of pain washed over his face and he fell to the ground with a knife in his back, revealing John Locke behind him. Sawyer let a brief smile escape as his captor loosened his grip in shock and taking advantage of this, Sawyer punched him square in the jaw.

"Hello James" said Locke with a broad smirk

"Locke, where and when are we?" Sawyer asked hoping he might provide answers

"Based on what I've just heard I have no clue of the date but I'm pretty sure we're outside the other's camp" John told them "I think they mistook us for some people who were on this island in the past" Sawyer and Juliet nodded in agreement

"What do we do?" Asked Juliet

"We go in there" said Locke and although they exchanged a unsure expression, Sawyer and Juliet agreed to trust Locke

•

An exasperated Jack and an exhausted Kate had begun surveying the damage, Jack counted Ten Bodies struck by flaming arrows, Hurley and Alistair had dragged two more out of the water ,plus the three killed in the explosion. Two survivors were alive but left with life threatening injuries and would surely not make it through the night. Himself, Kate, Hurley, Miles, Lapidus, Sayid, Sun and Alistair remained on the beach. Jack began to work out who else had survived, surely Locke and Faraday who had been away from the beach when the assault happened and according to the body count 9 others and a dog had fled, presumably meeting at the creek, how Sawyer had instructed

" Right" Jack said to get the attention of his friends " We need to get to the creek to find the others but we have to deal with the bodies and decide what to do next, with the attack and the time light and everything" Jack explained

"I'll go to the creek and collect the rest of the survivors and bring them back, you guys deal with the mess here" suggested Miles and although Jack was sure he only wanted to lime most of them get away from the bodies, he couldn't dispute the idea and nodded to Miles. After the Asian man walked off into the bushes, Jack took another grim look at the bodies and at a horrified Hurley who was covering them up along with Alistair. Sayid had made a makeshift tent where Sun could stay inside, giving her the privacy to remove her wet clothes, seen as the survivors horde of spare clothes from the plane crash had traveled through time with them., he could hand Sun a new T-shirt. He removed his own white vest which was wet and clinging to him and his jeans. Shivering as a harsh wind hit the beach, freezing his bare skin as he stood in just his boxers, he quickly shoved a pair of beige trousers over his legs a pale yellow t-shirt to cover his frozen arms. He could see Kate was also shivering and so he handed her a jacket and all that remained in the box was a Stetson, some trainers and Nikki's Expòse script.

Sun emerged from her tent, surprisingly calm considering she had lost her husband and just narrowly escaped death in a mass murder. But her hard shell was beginning to crack as the day took its toll sand seeing Frank walking aimlessly, Sayid friendly suggested he comfort Sun and he did so sitting with her in her tent away from the bodies. Kate took one last look at the anguish before curling up and letting her eyes shut, embracing the darkness.

•

"But why didn't you kill the one that ran away, that I punched" Sawyer asked Locke

"Because James, he's one of my people, the Others, Ben gave me control" Locke began to explain as they approached the camp belonging to the Others of the 50's but they were stopped by a man brandishing a large gun, his name tag read Jones.

"We have your friends, the ginger and her clever little lover" said Jones "So don't try anything"

"This is hard to explain but you need to trust me" said Locke as Jones scoffed and a familiar face approached them, looking identical as he would 50 years from now, right down to his hairstyle and dark eyes.

" Richard has always been here" whispered Juliet as an impatience Jones waved his gun in their faces

" Tell me why I shouldn't just shoot you now" demanded Jones

"Because Jacob sent me" said Locke, hoping that the mention of the mysterious man that the others worked for would help. Jones didn't seem bothered by this but Richard's face dropped at the mention of his name.

"Put the gun down, Widmore" shouted Richard, revealing Jones to be Charles Widmore, the man who in 50 years would send a freighter to the island. Richard beckoned for Locke to follow him " Put the other two with the rest of them, this man's different" said a confident Richard

•

Rays of sunlight signaled the first light of day as Miles reached the creek. He rubbed his tired eyes and gasped at the aching pain in his back and legs. He was alone. There were the remains of two bodies nearby however, it looked like they had been blown up by a trap, it was impossible to work out who they were however. Suddenly someone tapped him on the shoulder, it was Steve one of the flight 815 Survivors.

" Hey man, where's everyone else" Asked Miles, Steve just shrugged, moments later Sawyer, Juliet, Daniel, Charlotte and Locke came through the bushes to meet them.

" Damn, is this everyone" asked Sawyer

" Jack, Kate, Sun, Claire's Baby and a few others are back on the beach, they sent me to collect everyone from the creek" confirmed Miles to the relief of the rest of the group, especially Sawyer and Juliet, but before they could celebrate that their friends were alive, there was a loud noise and the world around them began to light up. Not much had changed this time except there were more trees on the horizon. " We better make our way back to the beach" said Miles

" I'll just have a look around here, see if I can find any more survivors" explained Daniel " You lot go ahead" the rest of the group turned and headed to the beach I'm agreement and after a few seconds of staring int his eyes, Charlotte followed. As soon as they were gone, Daniel made a mad scramble to the hatch, not wanting to miss his chance again. Once he arrived he pulled out his notebook from his backpack and began banging on the metal door of the hatch which was now sat firmly in the ground again. A few minutes later and as Daniel prayed for it to work under his breath, the door loudly swung open and a suited up man pointing a gun in his face emerged Desmond Hume.

" Woah, Desmond please, put the gun down, my name is Daniel Faraday, I'm here to help" Daniel reasoned

"Are you my replacement" Desmond quieted while lowering the gun

"I'm here to wake you up Desmond, listen to me cos this is important, when you wake up you have work to do,you have to save your friend" Daniel carefully instructed, glancing down at the notebook as he did

"What friend?" Asked Desmond

"Charlie Pace"... And then with a flash of golden light, he was gone.


	5. Saving Charlie Pace

The group was gathered round in a huddle on the beach. The bodies of those who died in the 50's were left behind, presumably buried by the others somewhere. Locke and Daniel had each relayed the events that had taken place at the Other's camp with Alpert, Ellie and the Jughead bomb.

"So what do we do now to stop this?" Asked Hurley

"We need to get to the Orchid station as fast as possible and reverse whatever Ben Linus did" Daniel answered " That's the only way we can stop the time jumps" he was preoccupied by Charlotte who was grabbing her head in pain as a small trickle of blood dribbled from her nose. Daniel looked on at her, his expression more concerned than ever.

"Um, I'm not too sure about that dude I mean how are we supposed to get all that way before we get in more danger in a different time" the group stopped silent, deep in thought about Hurley's point until Sawyer spotted something near the water.

" Hey we can take those outriggers" everyone followers his finger until the two small boats came into their view, Jack leaper down the beach and into the closest boat, Kate, Hurley, Alistair, Frank, Sayid and Steve were hot on his heels and leaped into the same craft. Locke and Sawyer commandeered the second outrigger followed by Juliet, Daniel, Charlotte, Miles and Sun. They began to row.

•

Jin and Micheal washed a shore. Waves crashed against their battered and exhausted bodies, they landed face down in the sand. Michael clambered to his feet with a groan and them helped Jin up as well, Jin spluttered and spoke in Korean.

"Tail... Tail Beach... Ana's beach"

"No Jin" said Michael shaking his head so the foreign man understood, they were far from the beach where their camp stood but they were also not in the same place where they were imprisoned by the tail section survivors. The two men looked at their surroundings taking them in, before they could get too used to them however, there was another flash and the sky lit up. Both of them grabbed their heads in pain and Micheal fell to the ground, when he woke up a bottle filled with water and bearing the label Oceanic Airlines lay next to him. His throat was dry, so he wasted no time in unscrewing the lid of the bottle and taking a large gulp of the freshwater. Rain began to pour down his face, a violent island storm. He offered the rest of the water to Jin.

•

The stormy weather hit the survivors as they traveled down the water first, next the sound of bullets splashing I'm the water around them, one hit the side of Jack's outrigger, another narrowly missed Miles. Their attackers were shadowy but fast approaching, both outriggers sped up.

"Hey Doc" screamed Sawyer above the sound of downpour and bullets " Let's split up,we'll jump off in this jungle clearing, you go ahead towards the beach, we'll wait for you at the Orchid" he instructed, Jack didn't really enjoy Sawyer been in charge but the plan seemed solid and it was better than been shot. As Jack's group sped ahead as fast as they could paddle, Sawyer and his clan were forced to turn towards the clearing and to do so they entered the path of the shooters.

" Get down" ordered Juliet as she produced a rifle and began to return fire on their attackers, three shots rang out from her gun before she struck one of them. This gave the others enough time to turn around and approach a direct clearing into the jungle.

" Do you think they'll follow us" asked Miles

"I don't think so, they're turning back" confirmed Juliet as she clambered out of the boat, she noticed Sawyer staring at her, he pointed towards her nose and she wiped her hand across it, a few droplets of blood emerging.

"What the" Juliet was suddenly interrupted by Daniel Faraday "CHARLOTTE! NO" Sawyer, Juliet, Miles and Sun turned to see Charlotte, Blood seeping from her nose and down her face, unconscious in Daniel's arms

" What the hell are these nose bleeds, Danny Boy" Sawyer said gruffly

" Headaches, Nose bleeds, their the first symptoms of the time displacement." He said, upset and worried " Then you start forgetting things and remembering things that never happened and if we don't get to the orchid station in time, it won't just be Charlotte it will be all of us and we will die" Daniel finished. The group were stunned by the revelation, all except Locke who seemed to be taking it in his stride.

"Well, we better hurry up then" Locke concluded

" Hang on" spoke Juliet interrupting the mystical atmosphere of Locke's sentence " Why are me and Charlotte getting nose bleeds but you guys aren't"

" I think it's to do with the time you spend on the Island"

And with a flash of light they were gone again

•

" Charlie Pace"

Desmond's eyes snapped open, he was floating in the middle of the ocean after the freighter had exploded but for some reason he now remembered a new memory of Faraday instructing him to save Charlie who had been dead for over two weeks since he drowned at the Looking Glass. A small boat, big enough for two or three floated towards him, there was one passenger, a man with shortish blonde hair.

" Hello Desmond, I'm here to tell you what you have to do" he spoke as he offered Desmond a hand and pulled him aboard his boat.

" Who are you" Desmond inquired

" That's not important, your quite lucky to meet me in person Desmond, I have come because you have a task, to help me, one of your friends, Charlie, died when his work here was not finished and until Ben Linus tampered with forces he shouldn't have, the process was irreversible" The man began " This may be hard to believe, Desmond, but since the wheel was turned, you and the passengers of flight 815 are traveling through time, the physicist has worked out how to stop this and is traveling to do so. That means you don't have much time."

" Look Brutha, slow down a minute, you say we're traveling thorough time and my friends are off to stop it, what the hell does this have to do with saving Charlie, which by the way is impossible" ranted a baffled Des

" No Desmond!" Said the man with a cool calmness and confidence "You have traveled back to the day that you and Charlie traveled down to the Looking Glass station. As we speak he is putting in the code to allow for contact with the freighter, you must swim down once your past self has left the station and get Charlie to safety, you will have to enter through the porthole which is now open albeit filled with water, so that you can rescue Charlie without been seen by past you, I will do the rest." The man finished and he indicated that the boat had reached it's destination, as Desmond looked downwards, the man pushed him back into the water and Desmond was plunged underwater.

Desmond's heat bobbed up, he saw the boat but it's occupant was missing and it was floating fast away from him. He took a deep breath and dived down. He opened his eyes underwater, despite the slight pain he continued to swim and soon the Looking Glass came in to site. A body floated in the water towards him, it was that of Mikhail, Desmond ignored the dead body and swam straight for the porthole just in time to see himself walk away and leave the station. He was gasping for air as he found Charlie's lifeless body making the shape of the cross and interrupted the religious gesture by grabbing Charlie by the arms and back out the porthole. As he swam as fast as he could he began to reach the surface. Water splashed as he gasped for air, he looked towards the beach and saw himself speaking to Hurley, remembering the emotion he felt when he told him, Charlie was dead. He watched as they turned and walked away.

Charlie coughed and water was released from his mouth as air began to flow into his lungs again and he was alive, Desmond was suddenly overcome with Joy to see Charlie alive once more, so overjoyed that he ignored the blood forming in his nostrils, but the mood came to an abrupt end when there was another flash of white light, leaving Charlie floating alone towards the beach as he began to regain consciousness, unaware of Desmond's part in his survival.

•

Locke, Miles, Sun, Sawyer and Juliet headed on towards the Orchid, Desmond having stayed behind in order to look after the deteriorating Charlotte who had remained conscious long enough to tell them to look for a well if the Orchid wasn't there but nonetheless as they arrived at the site, their stood the Orchid.

" We're lucky that it still actually exists" said Juliet but moments later, her words came back to haunt her as a white light left the Orchid gone and soil in it's place however a few meters away was a well.

" How did Charlotte know?" Asked a confused Miles

" Still sure you wanna go down their Locke" asked Sawyer

" I believe that I have to do this, James" Locke reassured him and he grabbed on to some conveniently placed rope. " Sawyer began to lower him but as he got closer to the bottom of the well, another flash occurred and despite Sawyer's best efforts, the rope vanished and the well reappeared, sealed off. Inside Lock plummeted to the bottom of the well and landed hard on his back, the impact crushed his leg and his head slammed hard on the ground, disorienting him. He heard footsteps but struggled to move to face the man who was approaching him, however he heard his voice.

" Hello John! "

•

Charlie wandered aimlessly along the beach, hoping to see Desmond or Hurley or any other survivors but after half an hour he gave up hope and came to the conclusion that they had presumed him dead and followed the rest of the group to the radio tower. He trekked through the jungle, his legs aching and his throat sore and dry from the seawater. He stopped off at a waterfall and drunk the fresh water and ate berries from a nearby tree. He resumed his journey to the radio tower but as night fell, he gave up and slept in the jungle.

He was awoken by rustling in the nearby trees to him, the sound of a human approaching.

" Hello, anyone, it's me, Charlie" he was disappointed when Richard Alpert stepped out.

" Shouldn't you be with the rest of your group" Richard inquired

" They think I'm dead" explained Charlie " What about you"

" I'm just collecting supplies to take to my people at the temple, where we live now. Since Tom and Mikhail vanished and Ben's pregnant women stunt resulted in his capture by your people, they look to me as a leader now"

" Ben sent patchy to kill me down at the looking glass, it was a suicide mission and.. Um.. Juliet told us what the others were planning and we tricked them" Charlie informers Richard " Do you have any idea where my friends are, cos it's bloody freezing out here" asked Charlie desperately

" I'm afraid not" said Richard " But if I were you, I'd head to the Radio Tower, we got wind of the plan to turn off the French signal" Richard said, which was the only knowledge he could give

" Problem is, you see, I don't have a clue where it is" Charlie despaired, Richard looked at his desperate face for a moment and couldn't help taking pity on him

" Tell you what, you can stay at the temple with us tonight, your not really meant to but it's better than walking to the towed at this time of night, in the morning I'll give you a map to the radio tower and you never return to the temple or tell your friends about it, OK" Richard offered

" Sounds Great" replied Charlie " Thanks... Um..."

" Richard... Richard Alpert"

•

" Jin... Michael" exclaimed Kate as the second group came ashore on the same beach as Micheal and Jin.

" Dude" said a beaming Hurley and ran towards Jin with open arms, embracing his Korean friend

" Michael... When did you get back to this rock" joked Alistair

" It's a long story... For another day" insisted Sayid " We need to get to the Orchid and meet the rest of our group"

" Sun... Orc... Orchid"' asked Jin and Hurley nodded

•

Charlie sat outside the Radio tower, he carried his bottle of water and Richard's map, but there was no sign of the rest of the survivors at the Radio Tower, they had left the previous day. It was as he sat, pondering the best route back to the beach camp that he saw a flare go off in the distance. Unaware of Frank or the helicopter landing on the Island. Charlie assumed the flare was something to do with his friends and followed in it's direction, but it was a waste of time and he found no further trace of anyone. As he walked through the jungle and the day turned to night again, Charlie was giving up all hope. He came across a familiar patch off land and came across the cockpit of the plane. The nose section was stilled slanted and wedged in some overgrowth. Rain was pouring in the jungle now and the plane seemed like good shelter to Charlie so he climbed inside the open end.

He crawled along the slanted floor and memories of the second day on the island, the journey to find the transceiver, talking to Kate about Drive Shaft and of course the unforgettable death of the Pilot at the hands of Smokey. He positioned himself in one of the empty first class seats. The weight of the day took it's toll on him and he soon drifted off.

"Charlie" said a soft but sudden voice that woke Charlie from his sleep, his pupils snapped open and sweat beads ran down his face, Christian Shepherd sat on a seat next to him. " In one week you will see your friends again Jack, Kate, Claire, Aaron... But first a man called Daniel Faraday did a favor for you in passing on a message, you need to return the favor by helping him out"

" OK... look mate, where can I find Claire, please that's all I wanna know" Charlie pleaded

" You can find her at the Barracks, where the others stayed" Christian revealed " But If you wait, she will find her when you both are ready" he continued " Now, your task"

•

" I've been here before, when I was a kid. I grew up here, there was this thing, this Dharma Initiative and then when I was seven, I left with my mum, just my mum, not my dad and when I got back to England and I asked my mum about this place, she said it wasn't real, that's why I became an anthropologist, to find this place again."

" Why are you telling me this"

" Because before I left there was this crazy man and he really scared me and he said to never come back to this place, because it was dangerous and he said to be that this place is death and Daniel, I think that man was you" Charlotte finished, Daniel's expression turned from confused to horrified as the sky lit up once more. He held the weak Charlotte in his arms and cradled her in his arms. Charlie approached them cautiously.

" Who are you?" Demanded Daniel angrily

" Charlie, Charlie Pace, you gave Desmond a message for me but we haven't met yet"

" So this is after I came to the Island but before the time flashes start" Daniel questioned

" Never mind that" said Charlie producing a small vial from his pocket with a blue serum inside " The man said it would slow down the degenerative effects or something" Continued Charlie as a beaming Daniel snatched the small bottle from his hand.

" Charlie... Desmond could only save you because he's an exception to the rule and I think you are too" and with that Daniel Faraday and the Ginger Girl in his arms disappeared

**4 Days Later**

Charlie was sure this was the right path to the Barracks, even though it was his fourth attempt. But as he rested at some trees, something caught his eye and as he got closer he realized that it was the body of Karl- the other who had come to warn them the attack was happening early. Charlie checked his pulse, but he was dead. Not far away lay the body of Danielle Rousseau, the French Woman. She had a pulse, but it was very weak. She suddenly coughed, taking Charlie by surprise as blood trickled from her mouth.

" Help... Alex" she gasped with her final breath, but there was nothing Charlie could do as he didn't know where her daughter or his friends were, he did however bury the pair to the best of his ability. All he could give them for now was an unmarked shallow grave.

When Charlie did reach the barracks, he didn't find Claire or any live people as he had hoped but he found collapsed white fences, one house looked as though it had been on fire and the bodies of four Oceanic survivors, a couple of whom he vaguely recognized and a load of mercenaries strewn across the grounds. With no sign of his living friends returning he stayed in one of the yellow houses, checking every room first to make sure it was empty and as he lay wide awake in the middle of the night, listing to trees rustling in the Island wind, he made the decision to head back to the beach.

**3 Days Later**

" JACK!" Screamed Claire as she shook him hoping he would wake up when a noise came from the bushes in front of them. " Hello, I need help" cried Claire hoping someone from the camp was coming but as the figure emerged and it's identity was revealed, Claire Screamed.

" Relax, Claire, It's me, Charlie, I'm alive" Charlie pleased, grinning at Claire, suddenly a hand slammed into his left cheek and he winded in pain. " Ow" he said as Claire looked on at him, slightly dizzy.

" Are you real Charlie?" She asked

" Yeah, I escaped, I never drowned, but Desmond thought I had so you all left and I... I slept in the cockpit and then I got a map to the Radio Tower and The French Woman she died and I buried her and then I got to the barracks and everyone there was dead and I've been walking back to the beach to find everyone" Charlie said gasping for breath as Claire took in all the details of his journey " Oh and there was a man and he said that I would see you in a week"

" What Man?" Asked a confused Claire

" I don't have a bloody clu-" Claire kissed Charlie on the lips, it was short but Claire knew then that it was real, that Charlie was alive. There was a sudden noise that interrupted the moment and white light blurred the pairs view of each other, when they opened their eyes it was suddenly raining. Then Charlie collapsed and fell to the ground as the rain hit his Face.


End file.
